WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,445 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE PGR opened at $255.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $137.59 and a one year high of $260.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.